''From what I've seen of [Horne] he's certainly been impressive and he's got a lot to offer Waratahs rugby and Australian rugby and perhaps that opportunity may come at inside-centre,'' Gibson said.

''I've only been here a couple of months but certainly some of the skill sets he's got lends nicely to that position … he's quite an abrasive, robust sort of player and will give you a lot of go-forward in the middle of the park, probably what Ben Tapuai does for the Reds and Pat McCabe for the Brumbies.''

Horne has carved out a niche at outside-centre over the the past five years and was Wallabies coach Robbie Deans's starting choice in the three-Test series against Wales in June.

He was left out of the Wallabies squad during the Rugby Championship three months later and had his sights set on a spring tour revival before injuring his hamstring in the Shute Shield semi-final for Southern Districts.

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There were calls earlier in the week for Horne to be dropped from the Waratahs starting line-up this season to allow for Israel Folau and Adam Ashley-Cooper but Gibson, a former inside-centre, has been quietly hatching a plan to move the 23-year-old across to No.12.

''He largely reflects the style of game we want to play - a really abrasive, go-forward game,'' Gibson said. ''He'd be ideal there.''

Expect more surprises from Moore Park with Gibson and veteran coach Alan Gaffney working alongside Cheika this year.

Gibson's appointment is proof Cheika could be serious about selecting outside the box. The pair hit it off over a beer at an airport hotel on the outskirts of Christchurch last year.

Gibson, who resigned last year after four seasons at the Crusaders, was talking to English club Leicester and had not given a thought to working in Australia.

But a call from Deans, who coached Gibson at the Crusaders and knew he was available, changed that. The Wallabies coach sent Gibson's number to Cheika and the pair met.

''I was pretty much decided on going to the UK … I tried to put him off … [but] I remember thinking I really like this guy, I like what vision he has for the team,'' he said.

''And I knew what sort of team the Waratahs had on paper. I remember going home to my wife saying 'I could really work with that man'. Bizarrely out of nothing, came an opportunity.''

Not to mention a handful of valuable insights. Apart from his plan for Horne, Gibson said he was struck by how wedded Australian rugby is to structured play.

''In New Zealand, we're very instinctive and we tend to pass the ball to someone and they will do something special to create play,'' he said. ''Whereas here you structure to make play … while I'm here I'd like to try to get the players to recognise more situations and play more instinctively.''

He has great respect for the Australian style and disputes the widely-held perception a gulf exists between the Wallabies and All Blacks.

''The Australians should have won that Test up in Brisbane. When they squeezed the All Blacks for time and space they looked much better,'' Gibson said.

He is impressing on players the importance of perfecting position-specific skills - another strength, according to Gibson, in the New Zealand conference - and helping Cheika build a team culture as strong as the Crusaders. Two months into his Australian adventure, Gibson said there was a vast improvement on the Waratahs of 2012.

''One of the criticisms of the Waratahs last year from a lot of the New Zealand teams was that the Waratahs were unfit,'' he said.

''We've done a lot of work this year on our fitness and we believe we're going to be a far better.''